Nuclear power in Malaysia

With the incoming energy crisis, many countries like Malaysia are planning to tap into alternative energy in order to hedge against the high oil prices that may hit up to $100++ in the coming years. However, I have a little skeptic about the proposal to tap into nuclear power to generate the require energy to replace fossil fuel in Malaysia.

First of all, the cost of building a Nuclear plant is definitely not cheap. It can cost up to a couple of billions of dollars to build up the plant and a commitment on maintenance should always be kept in order to avoid a radioactive leakage like the one that happened in the states in the early 90s.

Secondly, in order to produce Nuclear power, the country will have to seek out nuclear power source such as Uranium. However, with the popularity of Nuclear power in first world countries, the price of Uranium has sky-rocketed in the recent years. In addition, Uranium is definitely not a renewable power resource. It is hard to imagine the feasibility of the plan to establish a Nuclear Power Plant if the source of Uranium is not secured.

Thirdly, although hydroelectricity may not be as efficient as Nuclear power, I think the Malaysian people should really consider evaluating the many ways to use their available energy resources efficiently. Well, with the Bakun Dam, I believe that cheaper electricity should be made available to the people and the Malaysians should really look at what they have before jumping ahead and commit to a huge project like building a Nuclear plant.

Lastly, like many third world countries in the world, Malaysia may not receive any positive remarks for building a new Nuclear Power plant in this world. With Iran as a good example, I am sure Malaysia may receive the same negative treatment that Iran is receiving today. Of course, I am not saying that by establishing a Nuclear Plant, a country will go on and develop their own weapons of mass destruction. However, Malaysians should really consider the potential of new trade barriers to first world countries and the pull out of multi national corporations in order to protest against the construction of the power plant in Malaysia. The effects should not be undermined since it will not only damage Malaysia's image but it will also seriously affect Malaysia's economy which is heavily dependent on the export of their industrial products.

In my opinion, other energy resources should be chosen ahead of Nuclear power. With Malaysia's geographical location on the equator, I believe that solar energy and maybe potential energy from rain should be harvested in order to supply the growing energy demand for the Malaysian economy. Although solar panels have not reached the level of efficiency to produce a massive appeal to the public, I am sure, with a healthy allocation of r & D resources and the expertise of the world scientific experts, Malaysia may become a pioneer and the world's leader in developing solar energy.